Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters, and his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed, earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces".
Danger, Go Slow is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Robert Z. Leonard, and starring Mae Murray, Jack Mulhall and Lon Chaney. Robert Z. Leonard and Mae Murray co-wrote the screenplay together. The film is today considered lost.
The Tragedy of Whispering Creek is a 1914 American silent short Western film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush, and Lon Chaney. Chaney expert Jon Mirsalis says Chaney also wrote the screenplay, based on a story by Elliott J. Clawson, but the Blake book says the film's director Allan Dwan wrote the screenplay himself. A print exists in the Deutsche Kinemathek film archive, making it Chaney's earliest surviving moving picture. A still exists which shows Chaney in his role as "The Greaser".
The Forbidden Room is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and featuring Murdock MacQuarrie, Pauline Bush and Lon Chaney. The film's working title was originally The Web of Circumstance. The film is now considered to be lost.
The Lion, the Lamb, the Man is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Tom Forman and featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. Though once believed to be lost, a shortened version of the film was preserved by the Museum of Modern Art in 2008, and was re-premiered at the 2017 Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, California.
The Threads of Fate is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Tom Forman, and featuring Pauline Bush, William C. Dowlan and Lon Chaney. The film is now considered to be a lost film. A still exists showing Lon Chaney made up as "The Count" trying to persuade the heroine of the film to marry him.
The Stronger Mind is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Murdock MacQuarrie and Pauline Bush. Chaney did not routinely work for the United production unit at Universal, and was obviously sent over as a one-time loan-out for this production. It is now considered to be a lost film. A still exists showing MacQuarrie and Chaney as the two bank robbers.
The Oyster Dredger is a 1915 American silent drama film written and directed by Lon Chaney, and starring J. Warren Kerrigan and Vera Sisson. Chaney did not appear in the film himself. Chaney only directed two films that he himself wrote, The Oyster Dredger and The Chimney's Secret, both 1915.
Steady Company was a 1915 short silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney and Pauline Bush. It was written by Ida May Park, based on a story by Julius G. Furthman. The film is now considered to be lost.
The Place Beyond the Winds is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, and starring Lon Chaney, Gretchen Lederer and Dorothy Phillips. It was written by Ida May Park, based on the novel by Harriet T. Comstock. The director De Grasse also played a role in the film. The film's original working title was Mansion of Despair. A still exists showing Chaney in the role of Jerry Jo, the homeless man.
Accusing Evidence is a 1916 American silent Western film directed by Allan Dwan and starring Lon Chaney, Pauline Bush and Murdock MacQuarrie.
Fires of Rebellion is a 1917 American silent drama film written and directed by Ida May Park, and starring Lon Chaney, William Stowell, and Dorothy Phillips. The film is today considered lost. A still exists showing Lon Chaney in the role of the lecherous photographer Russell Hanlon. The film's main musical theme was Serenade by R. Czerwonky.
Triumph is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse, written by Fred Myton, starring Lon Chaney and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was adapted from a short story by Samuel Hopkins Adams. It was produced by Bluebird Photoplays and released by Universal Film Manufacturing Company. Only the first three of the five reels of this film survive, and the third reel is heavily decomposed. Two stills exist showing Lon Chaney as the terminally ill Paul Neihoff.
The Grand Passion is a 1918 American silent Western film directed by Ida May Park and starring Dorothy Phillips, Jack Mulhall, and Lon Chaney. Ida May Park also wrote the screenplay, based on a novel The Boss of Powderville by Thomas Addison. The film was allegedly shown in some theaters under the title of The Boss of Powderville.
That Devil, Bateese is a 1918 American silent action-drama film directed by William Wolbert and starring Monroe Salisbury, Ada Gleason, and Lon Chaney. The screenplay was written by Bernard McConville, based on a story written by Bess Meredyth. Even though this film was released before some of his earlier Universal films, it was actually Chaney's final film from his first stint at Universal Studios. Filming took place at Big Bear Lake and the San Bernardino National Forest in California. The film is considered lost.
The Talk of the Town is a 1918 American silent comedy film directed by Allen Holubar and featuring Lon Chaney, William Stowell and Dorothy Phillips. The screenplay was written by Allen Holubar, based on the novelette "Discipline of Genevra" by Harold Vickers. Talk of the Town is considered a lost film.
Treasure Island is a 1920 silent film adaptation of the 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, directed by Maurice Tourneur, and released by Paramount Pictures. Lon Chaney played two different pirate roles in this production, "Blind Pew" and "Merry", and stills exist showing him in both makeups. Charles Ogle, who had played Frankenstein's Monster in the first filmed version of Frankenstein a decade earlier at Edison Studios, portrayed Long John Silver. Wallace Beery was supposed to play Israel Hands, but that role went to Joseph Singleton instead. The film was chosen as one of the Top Forty Pictures of the Year by the National Board of Review.
Victory is a surviving 1919 American action film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Jack Holt, Seena Owen, Lon Chaney, Wallace Beery and Bull Montana. The film is an adaptation of the 1915 eponymous novel by Joseph Conrad. The screenplay was written by Jules Furthman and Ben Carré was the art director.
When Bearcat Went Dry is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Oliver L. Sellers from the novel by Charles Neville Buck, and starring Lon Chaney as Kindard Powers. The title refers to a character nicknamed "Bearcat" who promises his girlfriend that he will quit drinking liquor. The plot involving a promise to give up drinking was timely given the passage of the Wartime Prohibition Act, which took effect on June 30, 1919, and banned the sale of alcoholic beverages, and ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in January of the same year.
Paid in Advance is a 1919 American silent drama film set during the Alaska Gold Rush, from the story The Girl Who Dared by James Oliver Curwood. The film was directed by Allen Holubar, who wrote the screen adaption as well. The movie stars Dorothy Phillips, Joseph W. Girard, Lon Chaney, and Priscilla Dean.
